Calendar clock device



NOV. 11, 1969 I LAU CHUN LEUNG ET AL 3,477,222

j CALENDAR CLOCK msvxcm Filed April 11, 1968 S SheetS-Sheet 1 LAU CHUN LEUNG ET AL 3,477,222

Nov. 11, 1969 CALENDAR CLOCK DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1968 NOV. 11, 1969 LAU CHUN LEUNG ET AL 3,477,222

' CALENDAR CLOCK DEVICE Filed April 11, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,477,222 CALENDAR CLOCK DEVICE Lau Chun Leung and Lau Chi Leung, both of 24 Pine St., 1st Floor, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong Filed Apr. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 720,571

Claims priority, application Great Britain, Apr. 24, 1967,

Int. Cl. G04b 19/24 US. Cl. 58-4 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a calendar clock device, day and month wheels are provided steppable through series of positions corresponding to the days of a 31 day month and to successive month, the month wheel being advanced one step on the completion of each series of thirty one positions of the day wheel, the wheels being divided into a plurality of coaxial zones in each of which zones selected locations are differentiated from the remainder, whereby to initiate additional stepping operations of the day wheel in response to the wheels reaching certain combinations of angular positions corresponding to non-existent dates at the end of a month of less than thirty one days. Preferably the additional stepping operations are initiated by pairs of series connected contact sets cooperating with zones one on each of the wheels for closure by said differentiated locations.

This invention relates to perpetual calendar clock devices in which automatic compensation is made for the differing lengths of the various months and may be made for the extra day in February in leap years.

Numerous arrangements have been proposed for such mechanisms, either wholly mechanical or electromechanical in nature. The mechanical arrangements are extremely complicated and require great skill in manufacture if reliable operation is to be ensured, whilst the electromechanical arrangements hitherto proposed have involved large numbers of sliding contacts in the electrical circuits which is a further source of unreliability.

The object of the present invention is to provide an electromechanical perpetual calendar clock mechanism of simplified construction and improved reliability.

According to the invention a calendar clock device comprises a day wheel and a month wheel, each presenting a plurality of locations each representing a day or a month and a plurality of coaxial zones in which different selections of said locations are differentiated from the remainder, stepping means for advancing said day wheel location by location, transmission means whereby the month wheel is advanced through one location on completion of each revolution of the day wheel, means for operating the stepping means once each day, and means coactin'g with said differentiated locations on the zones of the two wheels to initiate additional operations of the stepping means in response to the wheels reaching certain angular positions whereby to compensate for the differing number of days of the various methods.

According to the invention also a calendar clock device comprises a day wheel steppable by means of operative cycles of a solenoid through series of thirty one successive positions, each associated with one day of a thirty one day month, means causing the solenoid to carry out an operative cycle once each day, a month wheel steppable to successive positions corresponding to successive months in response to the completion of each series of positions of the day wheel, said wheels each comprising coaxial zones associated with each length of month to be allowed for other than thirty one days, and a normally 3,477,222 Patented Nov. 11, 1969 open contact making means associated with each of said zones, the contact sets for corresponding zones on the two wheels being in series, said zones of said month wheel each carrying contact operating means in positions corresponding to the months of the length associated with that zone, and said zones of said day wheel each carrying contact operating means in positions corresponding to the days not present in months of the length associated with that zone, whereby when the day and month wheels assume positions corresponding to a non existent date at the end of a month of less than thirty one days a circuit to the solenoid or to a further solenoid is completed via a series connected pair of said contact making means to cause it to carry out an operative cycle and step the day wheel to its next successive position.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURES 1(A) and 1(B) are a diagram showing the functional relationship of the various parts of the device and its electrical circuitry.

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic elevation showing a possible arrangement of the mechanical parts of the device, and

'FIGURE 3 is a plan view showing the toothed wheel and contact breaker mechanisms seen in FIG. 2, the contact breaker assemblies being displaced upwards as seen in the drawing for the sake of clarity.

Referring first to FIGURES 1(A) and 1(B), the heart of the invention is an arrangement of two toothed wheels A and B, wheel A, which may be termed the day wheel, being peripherally divided into thirty one tooth carrying locations numbered 1-31 and each associated with a correspondingly numbered day in a month, and divided in its axial direction into seven coaxial zones A to A (shown exploded for the sake of clarity) of which zones A -A carry teeth differentiating one or more of the tooth carrying locations from the remainder. Wheel B which may be termed the month wheel is similarly peripherally divided into 48 tooth carrying locations each associated with one month in a four year cycle and into zones B B Only such of these latter locations have been given references as are necessary for the purposes of description, these being identified by the initial letter of the month concerned and the number of the year in the cycle, year 4 being a leap yearthus 7, refers to the tooth location associated with February in a leap year. Wheel zone A, is associated with mechanism described below for advancing wheel B through one tooth carrying location at the end of each complete revolution of wheel A, and coacts by means to be described with zone B, of the month wheel which has teeth at all its 48 tooth carrying locations.

Wheel A is actuated by a solenoid P driving a spring loaded pawl 122 adapted to engage teeth located in at least wheel zones A A each energization and deenergization cycle of the solenoid causing the pawl to advance Wheel A through one tooth carrying location. The tooth shown in dotted lines at location 1 on wheel zone A represents the tooth at position 1 on wheel zone A being shown in order to clarify the operation of the solenoid, since zone A has teeth only at locations 231 for a reason discussed below.

Solenoid P is normally energized and then deenergized once every twenty four hours, preferably at midnight, by temporarily closing a switch M thus placing the solenoid in connection with a source of electrical power connected to terminals 140, 141. The switch M may conveniently :be operated by a clock (not shown) associated with the calendar mechanism.

It will be seen that wheel zone A; carries a tooth at location 31, wheel zone A teeth at locations 30 and 31 and wheel zone A teeth at locations 29, 30 and 31 and that each of these wheel zones is respectively associated with normally open contact makers U, V and X arranged to be closed by the action of said teeth. Wheel zones A and A form part of a repeater arrangement, and their tooth arrangement is described below.

Likewise, wheel zones B B B carry teeth respectively at locations 1: 1 12 i: 1: 2! i2: 2 "2: 3 1 3 3 "3: a.;, i .9 11 at location f and at locations f f and f;,, the teeth dilfereutiating these locations from the remainder and acting to close contact makers Y, Z or N. Consequently, contact maker Y will be closed during April, June, September and November, the contact maker Z will be closed during February in leap years, and the contact maker N will be closed during February in normal years. In addition contact maker U will be closed when wheel A is in a position corresponding to the 31st day of a month, contact maker V will be closed when wheel A is in a position corresponding to the 30th or 31st day of a month, and contact maker X will be closed when wheel A is in a position corresponding to the 29th, 30th or 31st day of a month.

Contact makers Y and U, Z and V, and N and X are connected in series between lines 142 and 143, with the result that a circuit will be completed between these lines whenever wheels A and B are in positions corresponding to dates which do not in fact exist, for example June 31st, or February 29th in a normal year. This will complete a circuit from terminals 140, 141 to the solenoid P which will be energized until a thermally responsive relay opens the circuit in response to heating caused by the passage of current therethrough. Hence when a normal actuation of the solenoid brings wheel A into a position such that the positions of wheels A and B do not correspond to a real date, the solenoid is caused to pass through an additional energization and deenergization cycle. If the further advance of wheel A brings it to a further position such that the positions of the wheels still do not correspond to a real date, the circuit through the solenoid will again be completed and then broken by relay R, thus causing a further advance of wheel A. In consequence, in any month having less than 31 days, the solenoid will, after moving wheel A forward from its position corresponding the last day of that month, recycle until wheel A is in a position corresponding to the first day of the next month.

Whilst it is possible to use the wheels A and B to provide a date indication directly, it is preferred to provide separate indicators, for example the drums E, F, G and H shown in FIGURE 1, carrying figures visible through windows in a suitable casing. Since the connections between solenoid operated pawl arrangement 150, 151, 152, and 153 operating these drums and the remainder of the apparatus is purely electrical, it will be understood that the date indicator arrangement shown may be only one of a number of sets of slave date indicators all controlled by the master calendar clock mechanism already described. Moreover the indicators may be of any kind electrically steppable to show a suit able series of successive indications.

Reverting to the arrangement actually shown, drum E exhibits in order the days of the Week and its solenoid arrangement 150 is actuated in response to the closing of a switch M2 ganged with switch M1 which completes a circuit through the solenoid between the terminals 140, 141. Drum F shows the tens digit of the day of the month and its associated solenoid arrangement 151 is activated by the closing of contact maker S actuated by teeth at locations 1, 10, 20 and 30 on wheel zone A Drum G which shows the units digit of the day of the month is similarly operated by solenoid arrangement 152 under the control of contact maker T and wheel zone A It should be noted that no tooth is provided at location 1 on this wheel zone in order to avoid two successive activations corresponding to the final digit 1. Drum H shows the month and is operated by solenoid arrangement 153 un- .4 der the control of contact maker 0 and wheel zone A carrying a single tooth at location 1 to actuate solenoid arrangement 153 on the first of each month.

Referring now to FIGURES 2 and 3, the wheels A and B are pivotally mounted side by side on a base plate 123 and journalled adjacent their opposite faces in a support 124 attached to the :base plate. Wheel zone A; is in cogged engagement with an idler wheel 118 mounted on support 124 and carrying a pin which engages wheel zone B and rotates wheel B one step each time wheel A completes a revolution. Spring detents 131 and 132 ensure accurate stepping of wheels A and B.

The solenoid P has a plunger 127 acting through a spring on a rocking lever 121 loaded by a spring 130 and pivoted on the same axis as wheel A and carrying a spring loaded pawl 122 broad enough to overlap wheel zones A and A the stroke of the solenoid being such that wheel A is advanced one tooth by each operative cycle of the solenoid.

Mounted above wheel A is an insulating support 125 carrying two mutually insulated contact assemblies 128a and 12811 comprising respectively contact makers O, S and T and contacts makers X, V and U. Mounted above wheel B is an insulated support 126 carrying a contact assembly 129 comprising contact makers Z, N and Y.

The wheels A and B may be either unitary structures or made up of aligned stacked components each comprising a single zone of the wheel concerned.

It may be convenient to provide a separate solenoid to carry out the additional stepping operations at the end of each month leaving solenoid P carrying out only the normal daily stepping of wheel A. Moreover, if it is not desired to provide for leap years, wheel B need have only 12 tooth carrying locations and the construction as a whole can be simplified. As a further alternative, wheel B has only 12 tooth carrying locations, and a third, year, wheel is provided steppable by the month wheel and selectively closing contacts in series respectively with contacts N and X or Z and V according to whether it is a normal or a leap year.

What we claim is:

1. A calendar clock device comprising a day wheel, electrically operated means operative to step said day wheel through series of thirty one successive positions, each position associated with one day of a thirty one day month, means to energize said electrically operated stepping means once each day, a month wheel operatively associated with the day wheel for stepping to successive positions corresponding to successive months in response to the completion of each series of positions of said day wheel, said wheels each comprising coaxial zones associated with each length of month to be allowed for other than thirty one days, a normally open contact making means associated with each of said zones, the contact sets for corresponding zones on the two wheels being in series in a circuit including said stepping means, said zones of said month wheel each carrying contact operating means in positions corresponding to the months of the length associated with that zone, and said zones of said day wheel each carrying contact operating means in positions corresponding to the days not present in months of the length associated with that zone, whereby when the day and month wheels assume positions corresponding to a non-existent date at the end of a month of less than thirty one days a circuit to the stepping means is completed via a series connected pair of said contact making means whereby to cause it to step the day wheel to its next successive position.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said zones are axially spaced and said contact operating means are teeth.

3. A device according to claim 1 wherein the month wheel is steppable to forty-eight successive positions representing the months of a four year cycle.

4. A device according to claim 1 wherein the stepping means comprises solenoid means, a switch in a circuit to said solenoid means from an electrical power supply, means to close said switch for a short period every twenty-four hours, and the circuit to the stepping means completed via the contact making means is a separate circuit from the power supply to the solenoid means and includes a device responsive to the passage of current therethrough to break the circuit after a short period.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein the date indications are presented by repeater mechanisms responsive to the stepping of the mechanism.

6. A device according to claim 5 wherein the repeater mechanisms comprise means steppable by solenoids to present successive indications responsive to the operation of contact making means in circuit with said solenoids and selectively operable on rotation of the day wheel.

7. A device according to claim 5 in which a plurality of sets of repeater mechanisms are provided.

8. A device according to claim 2 in which the day and month wheels are peripherally divided into an appropriate number of tooth carrying locations, and divided in an axial direction into a number of zones, selected locations in each zone carrying teeth whereby to operate contact making means and to provide means for stepping the wheels.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the day wheel is divided into zones each having 31 tooth carrying locations corresponding to the days of a month of that length, one zone having a tooth at the location corresponding to day 31, a second zone having teeth at locations corresponding to days 30 and 31, a third zone having teeth at locations corresponding to days 29, 30 and 31, and a further zone or combination of zones carrying teeth at each location whereby to permit stepping of the wheel, and whereon the month wheel is divided in zones each having 48 teeth carrying locations corresponding to the months of a four year cycle, one zone having teeth at locations corresponding to April, June, September and November of each year, a second zone having a tooth at locations corresponding to the February of the leap year of the four year cycle, a third zone having teeth corresponding to the Februarys of the remaining years of the cycle, and a fourth zone having teeth at each location whereby the wheel is stepped, said first, second and third zones of the two wheels being associated with said series connected contact operating means.

10. A device according to claim 9, wherein said further combination of zones on the day wheel comprises a fourth zone having a tooth at a location corresponding to day 1, a fifth zone having teeth at locations corresponding to days 1, 10, 20 and 30, and a sixth zone having teeth at locations corresponding to days 2-31, said fourth, fifth and sixth zones each being associated with contact making means in circuit respectively with steppable indicator means displaying months, the tens digit of the day number, and the units digit of the day number respectively.

11. A calendar clock device comprising a day wheel and a month wheel, each presenting a plurality of locations each representing a day or a month and a plurality of coaxial zones in which difierent selections of said locations are differentiated from the remainder, stepping means for for advancing said day wheel location by location, transmission means whereby the month wheel is advanced through one location on completion of each revolution of the day wheel, means for operating the stepping means once each day, and means coacting with said differentiated locations on the zones of the two wheels to initiate additional operations of the stepping means in response to the wheels reaching certain combinations of angular positions whereby to compensate for the difiering number of days of the various months.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,927,418 3/1960 Bauer .58$

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner E. C. SIMMONS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 58-5, 24 

